Hard to beat a November night at Kyle

DeRuyter had a good thing going in Colorado Springs last January when Sherman convinced the then-Air Force defensive coordinator to pack his stuff and load his family for Aggieland.

The results have been immediate. Last year the Aggies defense finished 105th nationally. This year, with a third of the season to go, A&M (5-3, 2-2) ranks 46th overall. The defense has had its share of problems in Big 12 play but keep in mind DeRuyter, 47, has been in town all of 10 months.

DeRuyter, too, knows the schedule stiffens considerably starting Saturday night, when the Aggies play host to Oklahoma, so this week he called on his new best friends for a little help.

“You don’t have many chances to play a top 10 team at home in front of our crowd,” DeRuyter said of taking on the Sooners (7-1, 3-1), ranked eighth in the BCS standings. “They play great at home. In an offense like that and with a tempo like that, they have to communicate well. If we can get the 12th Man loud like they always are, we can make it tough for them.

“If we can do our part defensively to slow them down and hopefully create some confusion, we have a chance to win this football game.”

DeRuyter hadn’t even seen a game at Kyle in person until this season, and has said it has lived up to his high expectations when leaving Air Force for Aggieland.

That said … November night games at Kyle are one of the biggest reasons this is my favorite time of the year (that and the whole holiday thing). Should the Aggies, whose fans will have a full afternoon of tailgating under their belts by 6 p.m., keep it tight with the Sooners early, DeRuyter ain’t seen (or heard) nothing yet.